Who helped former Deputy Minister Averyanov escape abroad directly from the court and will he be held accountable for embezzling the state budget in other criminal cases?

As reported by "Suspilne", the Chernihiv Court of Appeals sentenced former Deputy Minister of Emergency Situations Oleh Averyanov to seven years in prison. After that, Averyanov disappeared – fled abroad.

Oleh Averyanov received his sentence for the theft of a Porsche Cayenne from his ex-wife Yevheniya Averyanova. Back in 2015, the spouses divorced, and the car, according to the ex-wife, was supposed to remain her property but disappeared. As it later turned out, Oleh Averyanov took it and sold it. Yevheniya bombarded law enforcement agencies with theft statements for a long time, which were ignored there, and she also sued her ex-husband for as long.

The case’s story is quite tangled, but in the end, Oleh Averyanov received a guilty verdict and a seven-year sentence. Moreover, the first-instance court – the Chernihiv District Court – acquitted Oleh Averyanov in October 2022. Almost exactly two years later, the Chernihiv Court of Appeals overturned the first-instance court’s verdict and found Averyanov guilty of theft, sentencing him to seven years in prison. After this, as already mentioned, Averyanov disappeared from the country.

This is, in general terms, the story. But behind all this lies something much more significant than a banal argument between ex-spouses dividing something. If we limit ourselves solely to the criminal case in which the former deputy minister and one of Oleh Lyashko’s closest associates received seven years, there are more questions than answers.

What’s wrong with the court’s verdict

To understand why the verdict causes bewilderment, you need to know who Oleh Averyanov and Yevheniya Averyanova are.

Oleh Averyanov, besides being a former Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Emergency Situations, where Oleh Lyashko placed him in 2015, and a former deputy of the Chernihiv Regional Council from the Radical Party, is currently one of the major entrepreneurs owning numerous assets both in Chernihiv region and beyond. In addition to the Pryluky plant "Pozhmashyna", which transferred from state ownership to Averyanov’s hands during his tenure as Deputy Minister, he owns many other enterprises in the field of trade, oil products, agriculture, and other businesses.

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Yevheniya Averyanova, whose statement eventually led to her ex-husband’s conviction, is a Deputy Mayor of Pryluky in Chernihiv region. However, she has no significant business or connections comparable to those of Oleh Averyanov. Completely different weight categories.

But that is just the surface, what is known to everyone. Oleh Averyanov, aside from his current titles, has a rather complicated biography. He originates from the Pryluky organized crime group "Europe", which, starting its ascent in the mid-90s, eventually turned into one of the most powerful criminal-financial empires in Ukraine. The most known representative of the "Europe" organized crime group is Valeriy Dubil, a People’s Deputy of Ukraine, deputy of Yuliya Tymoshenko in the party, businessman and semi-oligarch, who has a joint business with Averyanov. This is a separate big story, but the essence is that the "Europe" group, as they are called in Chernihiv region, has enormous influence not only in their region but also in the highest offices in Kyiv.

To understand how different the weight categories of Yevheniya Averyanova and Oleh Averyanov are, consider just two facts. The first – from the 90s. Both Oleh Averyanov and Valeriy Dubil were among those who took over the markets belonging to the late Kyiv authority "Pryshch" (Valeriy Ivanovych", who died a gangster’s death in the struggle for these markets.

The second fact – already closer to our time. As already mentioned, Averyanov comes from the Pryluky organized crime group "Europe". Besides Valeriy Dubil, its leaders are Anatoliy Miroshnychenko and Serhiy Varnavskyi. Both also have enormous business assets and influence on power structures at various levels. Miroshnychenko, until Yanukovych fled, was the head of the Chernihiv regional organization of the "Party of Regions", then defected to its splinter "SiCH". Varnavskyi (much less public than the rest of the "Europe" group) was a Kyiv Council deputy from "Batkivshchyna" for a long time.

Until recently, all four mentioned individuals practically controlled the region and, in particular, law enforcement agencies. Moreover, this control was exercised both directly through corruption and through corresponding higher authorities. This is evidenced at least by the course of the criminal case in which Averyanov received his sentence. Criminal proceedings No. 42015100010000106 based on Yevheniya Averyanova’s statement were initiated after four years of struggle – in October 2019. It dragged on for three years until the Chernihiv District Court delivered the expected acquittal in 2022. It took another two years for the appeal to overturn this verdict and "slam" Averyanov with a seven-year prison sentence.

From all this, a simple conclusion follows – Yevheniya Averyanova could not achieve a guilty verdict because she couldn’t. Oleh Averyanov was not "jailed" by her. Her statement about the car theft was used by other people who are carrying out "expropriation from the expropriators" under the current government.

Who stands behind Averyanov’s verdict and why was he allowed to escape?

Who specifically stands behind Oleh Averyanov’s guilty verdict is unknown. But there is no doubt that these people possess far greater weight than the losing influence of the "Europe" group. Who these people are, and who is pressuring representatives of the "Europe" organized crime group from power and money can be guessed. In this light, the fact that Valeriy Dubil, a People’s Deputy from the "Batkivshchyna" party, also recently fled speaks volumes. This is another story, but it brightly confirms the rumors that for a long time have been circulating in the region – assets are being wrested from the "Europe" group.

But in this regard, too, there are many questions and oddities. Because the verdict on a petty case and Averyanov’s escape from the country clearly were part of some agreements. Why the car theft case is petty will become clear from studying other criminal cases involving Averyanov. In relation to Oleh Averyanov, far more serious accusations are at play than the obviously absurd story of the car theft from his wife. Formally, of course, that is how it is, but the story itself is complete nonsense, and getting a sentence for it is simply laughable. Especially for such a person as Oleh Averyanov, who is accused of serious economic crimes causing billions in losses to the state. Most of these concerns the same "Pojmashina" plant, which was wrested from the state by Averyanov with the help of his "Europe" colleagues and Oleh Lyashko.

In the image above – only part of what Averyanov is accused of. As we see, most of the criminal cases against him are connected to the "Pozhmashyna" plant, which he “raided” while being Deputy Minister. The latest criminal case on the fact of overpricing by the "Pozhmashyna" plant on vehicles sold to the State Emergency Service was initiated in October 2023 (just when Averyanov was acquitted for stealing the car from his wife).

There were searches and then – silence. Everything stalled. As in other cases involving Averyanov and "Pozhmashyna". The question arises – why? The answer, as one might guess, is quite logical – too many people connected with the authorities are involved in budget thefts. Including the current ones. And, if unraveling Averyanov’s role in this theft, many of the current power-holders will be affected. It is better not to touch this at all, or you might end up exposing yourself through the investigation.

But assets still need to be confiscated? They do. That is why someone suddenly remembered that Yevhenia Averyanova had been besieging courts and the police for many years with statements regarding the car theft. And the case suddenly gets underway, and the Chernihiv Court of Appeals delivers a sentence of imprisonment for Averyanov.

But then – again sheer oddities. Here is the chronology of events. The pronouncement of the verdict by the Chernihiv Court of Appeals took place on September 10th. It consisted of two parts: the announcement of the brief verdict (without the operative part), followed by a break, and then a few hours later – the announcement of the full verdict. Averyanov attended the “brief” part. On the “full” – he was no longer there. And then he disappeared. Later, he resurfaced in Poland, from where via video link, on September 20th congratulated Ukrainians on Machine Builder’s Day.

And then disappeared again. Where Oleh Averyanov is now is unknown. But here are the obvious things that no one is answering. The verdict for Averyanov was known in advance by his handlers. Apparently, he also knew, but hoped for something. Most likely, these hopes were quite founded – the "Europe" group’s connections cannot be underestimated. But, since more powerful players are playing against them, those hopes were not realized. That’s why Averyanov considered it best to flee.

But even here there is a question: who allowed him to cross the border and on what grounds? The State Border Guard Service is silent on this issue, although there was no such silence when border guards did not allow MPs opposed to the government to leave the country. So far, the SBGS has not deigned to say whether Averyanov crossed the border at any of the checkpoints or not. Of course, it is unlikely that he crossed the border illegally, but in both cases, the same question arises - who provided the corridor (legal or not, it does not matter) and on what conditions? Why wasn’t Averyanov arrested immediately in the courtroom? Why was he not put on the wanted list after he disappeared? Is there a request for his search abroad and extradition?

There are a huge number of questions. But they all lead in the same direction. In the current situation, the Office of the President of Ukraine is in control of all law enforcement agencies, including the border guards, police and courts involved in this case. And the conclusion from what happened is unequivocal - the attack on Averyanov, the resuscitation of the criminal case regarding the theft of the car, the sentence, his escape from court and the crossing of the Ukrainian border were the result of agreements between those who attacked Averyanov and him. We will probably never know on what terms. But there is no doubt that Averyanov had to share a significant amount of his assets. Otherwise, he would still be in prison. There are precedents for this.